JP2008238649A - Image forming apparatus and communication system therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus and a communication system, which are highly convenient for a user. <P>SOLUTION: A copying machine which detects that a person is nearing, out of copying machines 3A to 3D in a communication system 100, acquires operation conditions of the other copying machines, and shows the user which one of the three copying machines 3A to 3D in the communication system 100 becomes available the earliest. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a communication system including two or more image forming apparatuses.

  Conventionally, various proposals have been made to improve the operability of the image forming apparatus. For example, in Patent Document 1, a CCD is provided in an image forming apparatus, an image in the vicinity of the image forming apparatus is read by the CCD, an image signal is processed, and an image is obtained from the orientation of a person's face or body near the apparatus. It is described that a person approaching the forming apparatus recognizes whether or not it is the day when the apparatus is used, and controls the image forming apparatus based on the recognition result.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, in a digital multifunction peripheral connected in tandem, when a document is read by the own device, the obtained image data is stored by the own device, and when the own device is busy and the other device is not busy, It is displayed that the user is prompted to specify whether or not copying is to be performed by another machine, and further, the image data obtained by the own machine is transferred to the other machine.

Further, in Patent Document 3, in a computer system such as a LAN in which a plurality of workstations (terminals) and a plurality of printers are connected via a printer output device, the printer output device has a print waiting time, that is, each printer. Describes that the printer having the smallest total print time of the print file information included in is selected.
JP-A-6-59010 (published March 4, 1994) JP 2002-165051 A (published June 7, 2002) JP 9-244826 A (published on September 19, 1997)

  However, even the above-described conventional technology is not sufficiently convenient for the user, and further improvement is required.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can recommend a user who intends to use the image forming apparatus to use an image forming apparatus with a shorter waiting time. And providing a communication system.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an image forming apparatus according to claim 1 communicates with a printing unit that prints an image on a medium and at least another image forming apparatus, so that an operation status of the other image forming apparatus is determined. A communication unit capable of acquiring information, a display unit that presents an image to the user, a person detection unit that detects the presence of the user, an own device operation status acquisition unit that acquires information about the operation status of the own device, and When the human detection unit detects the presence of the user, the printed matter is the earliest among the self-machine and other image forming apparatuses based on the information on the operational status of the self-machine and the information on the operational status of the other image forming apparatus. A selection unit that selects an image forming apparatus that can provide the image, and a display control unit that displays a selection result of the selection unit on the display unit.

  When the presence of the user is detected by the person detection unit, the image forming apparatus determines which of the plurality of image forming apparatuses including the own apparatus can provide the printed matter to the user first. It can be presented to the user. Therefore, the user can grasp which image forming apparatus is used to reduce the waiting time just by approaching the image forming apparatus closest to the user and looking at the display. Very convenient.

  Further, as a specific configuration for acquiring information about the operation status from another image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 is configured such that the human detection unit is the user's A configuration may further include a communication control unit that controls the communication unit so as to collect information on the operation status of the other image forming apparatus from another image forming apparatus when the presence is detected.

  Further, in order to provide information about the operation status of the own apparatus to another image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the communication unit includes: Furthermore, the information acquired by the own operation status acquisition unit may be transmitted to another image forming apparatus.

  The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, as described in claim 4, reduces the power consumption of the image forming apparatus when the human detection unit does not detect the presence of the user for a certain period of time. A power supply control unit configured to return from the sleep mode when the human detection unit detects the presence of a user.

  Even if it is displayed that the other image forming apparatus can provide the printed matter earlier than the own apparatus, the user is not the other displayed image forming apparatus, but the image forming apparatus that is first approached, that is, the display In some cases, the image forming apparatus that has been used is used. For this reason, the image forming apparatus that detects the presence of the user returns from the sleep mode, so that even when the user uses the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus provides a printed matter relatively quickly. can do.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, an image forming apparatus according to claim 5 is an image forming apparatus capable of communicating with two or more image forming apparatuses and capable of communicating with a server having information about an operation status of the image forming apparatus. A printing unit that prints an image on a medium, a communication unit that can acquire information about the operation status of the image forming apparatus that communicates with itself and the server by communicating with the server, and a user. A display unit that presents an image to the user, a human detection unit that detects the presence of the user, and when the human detection unit detects the presence of the user, the information about the operation status of the image forming apparatus and the other image forming apparatus A selection unit that selects an image forming apparatus that can provide a printed matter to a user earliest among image forming apparatuses that can communicate with the server, and a display control unit that displays a selection result of the selection unit on the display unit.

  When the presence of the user is detected by the person detection unit, the image forming apparatus determines which of the plurality of image forming apparatuses including the own apparatus can provide the printed matter to the user first. It can be presented to the user. Therefore, the user can grasp which image forming apparatus is used to reduce the waiting time just by approaching the image forming apparatus closest to the user and looking at the display. Very convenient.

  As a specific configuration for acquiring information from the server, the image forming apparatus according to claim 5 is configured such that, when the person detecting unit detects the presence of a user, the server detects the presence of the user. You may further provide the communication control part which controls the said communication part so that the information about the operation condition of another image forming apparatus may be acquired.

  In addition, in order to collect information about the operation status in the server, the image forming apparatus according to claim 5 or 6 acquires the information about the operation status of the own device as described in claim 7. The information processing apparatus may further include an acquisition unit, and the communication unit may transmit information acquired by the own operation status acquisition unit to the server.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the fifth to seventh aspects, if the person detection unit does not detect the presence of the user for a certain period of time, the power consumption in the own apparatus is reduced. A power supply control unit configured to return from the sleep mode when the sleep mode is executed and the presence of the user is detected by the person detection unit may be further provided.

  Even if it is displayed that the other image forming apparatus can provide the printed matter earlier than the own apparatus, the user is not the other displayed image forming apparatus, but the image forming apparatus that is first approached, that is, the display In some cases, the image forming apparatus that has been used is used. For this reason, the image forming apparatus that detects the presence of the user returns from the sleep mode, so that even when the user uses the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus provides a printed matter relatively quickly. can do.

  In order to solve the above problems, a communication system according to claim 9 is a communication system including two or more image forming apparatuses capable of communicating with each other, and the image forming apparatus includes a printing unit that prints an image on a medium. Communicating unit capable of acquiring information about operation status of other image forming apparatus by communicating with at least other image forming apparatus, display unit for presenting image to user, and human detection detecting presence of user Unit, an operation status acquisition unit for acquiring information about the operation status of the own device, and information on the operation status of the own device and other image forming apparatuses when the human detection unit detects the presence of the user. A table for selecting an image forming apparatus that can provide a printed matter to the user first among the own apparatus and other image forming apparatuses from information on the operation status, and a table for displaying the selection result of the selection section on the display section And a control unit.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the communication system according to the ninth aspect, wherein the image forming apparatus detects the presence of the user by the human detection unit, and another image forming apparatus operates its own operation state via the communication unit. The image forming apparatus that detects the presence of the user by the person detecting unit and that can provide the printed matter to the user earlier in the communication system by the selecting unit. It may be selected and the display control unit may display the selection result of the selection unit on the display unit.

  In order to solve the above problems, a communication system according to claim 11 is a communication system including two or more image forming apparatuses and a server capable of communicating with the image forming apparatus, wherein the server is included in the communication system. The image forming apparatus collects information about the operation status of the image forming apparatus, and the image forming apparatus communicates with the printing unit that prints an image on a medium and the server, so that the image in the communication system When the communication unit that can acquire the information about the operation status of the forming apparatus, a display unit that presents an image to the user, a human detection unit that detects the presence of the user, and the human detection unit detects the presence of the user From among the information acquired by the communication unit for the image forming apparatus in the communication system, the image form that can provide a printed matter to the user first among the image forming apparatuses in the communication system. Comprising a selection unit for selecting a device, a display control unit for displaying the selection result of the selecting section to the display unit.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the communication system according to the eleventh aspect, the server requests the image forming apparatus in the communication system to transmit information about the operation status of each image forming apparatus. Each image forming apparatus further includes a self-operation status acquisition unit that acquires information about the operation status of the self-device, and the communication unit responds to the request from the server. Information acquired by the machine operation status acquisition unit may be transmitted to the server.

  According to the image forming apparatus and the communication system of the present invention, the image forming apparatus in which the presence of the user is detected by the person detecting unit is the earliest printed material among the plurality of image forming apparatuses including the self-machine. Can be presented to the user himself / herself. Therefore, the user can grasp which image forming apparatus is used to reduce the waiting time just by approaching the image forming apparatus closest to the user and looking at the display. Very convenient.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described with reference to embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In the following embodiments, a copying machine will be described as an example of an image forming apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other apparatuses such as a multifunction machine can be used as the image forming apparatus. .

I. First Embodiment [I-1] Communication System 100
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a communication system 100 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system 100 is a so-called star LAN in which copiers 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D are connected to a HUB 10 through straight cables 2, respectively. In this embodiment, the number of copying machines is four, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  In the following, “self machine” means itself for each copying machine, such as the copying machine 3A for the copying machine 3A, the copying machine 3B for the copying machine 3B, and the “other machine” means the copying machine 3A. For this, it means the copying machines 3B to 3D other than the own machine. The same applies to other copying machines.

[I-2] Copiers 3A-3D
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of the copying machines 3A to 3D. All the copying machines 3A to 3D have the same configuration.

  The copying machines 3A to 3D include a printing unit 31 that forms an image on a recording medium such as paper, a communication unit 32 that communicates with the outside, a human sensor 33 that detects the presence of a person, and an input reception that receives input from the user. Unit 34, a display unit 35 that presents an image to the user, a power supply unit 36 that supplies electric power from the external power supply 4 to each unit in its own device, a memory 37, a control device 38, and the like.

  As the printing unit 31, an apparatus using a conventionally known technique such as an electrophotographic method can be suitably used. In the present embodiment, the printing unit 31 particularly includes an image forming unit that forms an image with a developer, a transfer unit that transfers the image onto a sheet, and a fixing unit that fixes the image transferred onto the sheet by thermocompression bonding. It is set as the structure provided with these.

  In particular, the communication unit 32 can receive the operation status of each copying machine received from another machine via the HUB 2. Further, the communication unit 32 can provide the operation status of the own machine to another copier 3 via the HUB 2.

  As the human sensor 33, an infrared sensor can be preferably used. In addition to this, a human detection mechanism that reads an image around its own device with a CCD element and outputs the read image signal can be used.

  As the display unit 35, a conventionally known display device such as a liquid crystal display device can be suitably used.

  The power supply unit 36 can supply power to the entire own device, supply power only to a specific member in the own device, and stop power supply to other members.

  The memory 37 can store information, and particularly includes an operation status storage area 37a.

  The control device 38 includes a communication control unit 38a for controlling the operation of the communication unit 32, a copier selection unit 38b for selecting a copier to be recommended to the user based on the operation status of the other machine and the own machine, and a copier selection unit 38b. Display control unit 38c for controlling the display unit 35 based on the selection result or other information, an own unit operation status acquisition unit 38d for acquiring the operation status of the own unit, a power supply control unit 38e for controlling the power supply unit 36, etc. Is provided.

  The control device 38 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like, and realizes the function of each block shown in FIG. 2 by developing a program read from the ROM by the CPU on the RAM.

  The copying machine selection unit 38b determines the operation status of the other device obtained by the communication unit 32 and the operation status of the own device obtained by the own device operation status acquisition unit 38d, that is, whether it is in the sleep mode or is executing a job. If the job is being executed, a copier that can provide the user with a printed matter more quickly is selected based on how many sheets remain to be printed. That is, when the copying machine is in a sleep mode, which will be described later, the copying machine that takes less time to recover and be able to print, more specifically, a copying machine in which the temperature of the fixing unit of the printing unit 31 is higher. If the copier is executing another job, if the copier has a shorter waiting time in addition to the job being executed, it takes less time to complete the job. Select a copier or the like that takes less time to complete all of these jobs.

  It should be noted that the configuration setting that the copying machine selection unit 38b attaches importance to in the selection of copying machines can be changed as appropriate. That is, the copying machines 3A to 3D can receive from the user which element should be emphasized via the input receiving unit 34, and can collect the operation status and select the copying machine based on the received contents.

  In addition, the copying machine selection unit 38b can select a copying machine that can provide the user with the printed matter earliest in the communication system 100, in other words, a copying machine with the shortest waiting time. The method is not limited to selecting only one copier. For example, the copying machine selection unit 38b may determine the order of copying machines in the order in which the printed material can be provided quickly under certain conditions.

  The display control unit 38c may present the copy machine that can provide the printed matter to the user selected by the copying machine selection unit 38b earliest to the user by the display unit 35, or provide the user with the printed matter early. The order of copiers may be presented to the user in the order in which they can be performed.

  The own machine operation status acquisition unit 38d has information on the operation status described for the copier selection unit 38b as information on the operation status of the own machine, for example, the temperature of the fixing device, the number of jobs that have already been received, and the like. To get. This acquisition may be performed at regular time intervals, or may be performed when requested from the outside via the HUB 2. The acquired information is stored in the operation status storage area 37 a of the memory 37. The stored information is provided to an external device via the communication unit 32, or used for selecting a copier in the copier selecting unit 38b.

  The power supply control unit 38e controls the power supply unit 36 when the self-machine is not used for a certain period of time, and other members excluding members necessary for communication such as the control device 38 and the communication unit 32, such as the printing unit 31 and the like. When the mode is shifted to the sleep mode in which the power supply to the display unit 35 is stopped and the input receiving unit 34 receives an input from the user or the human sensor 33 detects the presence of the user, the entire device is powered. Return to normal mode of supply. The “certain time” here is not particularly limited, and is a time that can be appropriately changed.

[I-3] Copying Machine Selection Operation The copying machine selection operation in the copying machines 3A to 3D will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  Here, the operation of the copying machine 3A will be described on the assumption that the copying machine 3A has detected the presence of a person by the human sensor 33. However, each of the copying machines 3A to 3D shown in FIG. In such a case, the same operation is performed.

As shown in FIG. 3, when a person is detected by the human sensor 33 (Yes in S1), the copying machine 3A returns from the sleep state when the own machine is in the sleep state (Yes in S2) ( S3). In particular, at this time, the power supply control unit 38e controls the power supply unit 36 to resume the power supply to the display unit 35, thereby preparing for the display in the subsequent step 7. In the present embodiment, preparation for printing execution such as raising the temperature of the fixing unit is also started at this time. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the power supply control unit 38e determines whether the user If it is not separated from the copying machine 3A, preparation for printing execution may be started. When the own device is not in the sleep state (No in S2), such processing is not necessary. The communication control unit 38a causes the communication unit 32 to collect information on the operation status of the other device (S4). Specifically, as will be described later with reference to FIG. 5, the communication control unit 38a sends a request to the copying machine 3A to send information on the operation status of each copying machine itself to another copying machine. The communication unit 32 is controlled to transmit to 3B to 3D. The information transmitted from the other copying machines 3B to 3D in response to this request is received by the communication unit 32 and sent to the copying machine selection unit 38b.

  The copying machine selection unit 38b aggregates the collected contents and information about the operation status of the own machine in the memory 37 based on the above-described configuration setting (S5). The copying machine selection unit 38b selects a copying machine based on the counting result (S6), and the display control unit 38c causes the display unit 35 to display the selection result (S7).

  Here, it is assumed that the copying machine selection unit 38b determines the order of copying machines based on the temperature of the fixing unit. FIG. 4 shows a ranking table T displayed on the display unit 35 in step S7. In the order table T, the copying machines 3A to 3D in the communication system 100 are arranged in the order in which the copying machine selection unit 38b determines that the printing waiting time is small, in this order, the fixing unit temperature (fixing temperature) is high. Is displayed. In Table T, the “copier” column indicates the name of the copier, and “A” means “copier 3A”. That is, FIG. 4 shows that the fixing temperature is higher in the order of the copying machines 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D.

  After that, if the human sensor 33 does not continue to detect a person, it means that the user has left the copier 3A. Therefore, after a predetermined time has elapsed, the power supply control unit 38e shifts to the sleep mode (S9). . On the other hand, when the user does not leave the copying machine 3A (Yes in step S8), the operation is performed based on the received content of the input receiving unit 34, for example, printing execution.

[I-4] Self-machine information collection operation The copying machines 3A to 3D collect information on the operation status of the self-machine at regular intervals. A specific processing operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that information about the operation status is requested from another machine (Yes in S11). Here, for example, if a request for information is transmitted from the copying machine 3A to the other copying machines 3B to 3D, the communication control unit 38a in the copying machines 3B to 3D causes the communication unit 32 to store the information in the operation status storage area 37a. Information is transmitted to the copying machine 3A (S12).

  On the other hand, when a certain time has passed without any information request from another device (No in S11 → Yes in S13), the own device operation status acquisition unit 38d acquires information about the operation status of each unit of the own device (S14). ). The acquired information is stored in the operation status storage area 37a in the memory 37 (S15).

  The “certain time” in this processing operation is also a time that can be appropriately changed, and is not particularly limited.

II. Second Embodiment Hereinafter, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[II-1] Communication system 101
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the communication system 101 of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the communication system 101 of this embodiment has substantially the same configuration as the communication system 100 of the first embodiment, except that a server machine 11 connected to the HUB 10 is further provided. That is, in the communication system 101 as well, like the communication system 100, a plurality of copying machines are connected to the HUB 10. Copying machines are labeled 3E, 3F, 3G, and 3H, respectively.

[II-2] Copy machines 3E to 3H
The copying machines 3E to 3H have substantially the same configuration as the copying machines 3A to 3D of the first embodiment. Accordingly, the copying machines 3E to 3H will be described with reference to FIG. 2, and description of members having the same functions as those already described will be omitted.

  The copying machines 3E to 3H are different from the copying machines 3A to 3D of the first embodiment particularly in the copying machine selection operation and the own machine information collection operation. Details will be described in the following [II-4] and [II-5] columns.

[II-3] Server machine 11
As shown in FIG. 6, the server machine 11 includes a communication unit 11b that can communicate with the copy machines 3E to 3H that are client devices via the storage device 11a and the HUB 10, and the copy machines 3E to 3H that are acquired via the communication unit 11b. The totaling part 11c which totals the information of the operation condition of this, the communication control part 11d which controls the communication part 11b, etc. are provided.

  The totaling unit 11c and the communication control unit 11d are also configured by a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like, and are realized by developing a program read from the ROM by the CPU on the RAM.

[II-4] Copying Machine Selection Operation FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of the copying machine selection operation in the copying machines 3E to 3F.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the copying machine selection operation of this embodiment is the same processing operation as the copying machine selection operation of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3 except for steps S24 and S25.

  That is, among the copying machines 3E to 3F, the copying machine (presently referred to as copying machine 3E) that has detected the presence of a person by the human sensor 33 appropriately returns when it is in the sleep state (S21 → S22 (→ S23). )). Then, the copying machine 3E does not directly collect information about the operation status from the other copying machines 33F to 33H, but the operation result of the copying machines 3E to 3F in the communication system 101 including the own machine is collected. Is acquired from the server machine 11 (S24).

  Specifically, the communication control unit 38 a controls the communication unit 32 so as to transmit a request for transmitting the totaling result to the server machine 11. As described in [II-6] below, the server machine 11 transmits the counting result to the copying machine 33E, and the information transmitted from the server machine 11 is received by the communication unit 32 and sent to the copying machine selection unit 38b. . The summary of the operation status of the copying machines 3E to 3F in the server machine 11 will be described in the following [II-6] column.

  Based on the total result, the copying machine selection unit 38b selects a copying machine (S25). In other words, if the server machine 11 is configured to count the temperature of the fixing unit, the copying machine selection unit 38b determines the temperature based on the temperature of the fixing unit of the copying machines 33F to 33H acquired from the server machine 11. Determine a higher ranking. Then, this order is displayed on the display unit 36.

[II-5] Own Machine Information Collection Operation FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of the own machine information collection operation in the copying machines 3E to 3F.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the own device information collecting operation of this embodiment is the same processing operation as the own device information collecting operation of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 5 except for steps S31 and S32.

  As described in [II-6] below, a request for information on the operation status is transmitted from the server machine 11 to the copiers 3E to 3H by the information collecting operation performed spontaneously by the server machine 11. When the copying machines 3E to 3H receive this request via the communication unit 32 (Yes in S31), the communication control unit 38a of each copying machine 3E to 3H sends information about the operation status of the copying machine 3E to the server machine 11. The communication unit 32 is controlled to transmit (S32).

  The information to be transmitted at this time is as described in the first embodiment as information about the operation status of the own device. That is, the copying machines 3E to 3H acquire the operation status of each part of the copying machine at regular intervals and store it in the memory 37 (S33 to S35).

[II-6] Information Collection Operation in Server Machine 11 The information collection operation in the server machine 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an information collecting operation in the server machine 11.

  In this embodiment, the server machine 11 voluntarily collects information on the operation status from the copying machines 3E to 3H at regular intervals. This “certain time” is a time different from the “certain time” in FIGS. 5 and 8 and the like, and can be changed as appropriate.

  When there is a request for information transmission from any of the copying machines 3E to 3H which are client devices (S41), the communication control unit 11d of the server machine 11 controls the communication unit 11b to be stored in the storage device 11a. The totaling result of the operation status of the existing copying machines 3E to 3H is transmitted to the copying machine that has requested information transmission (S42).

  When there is no request for information transmission from any of the copying machines and a predetermined time has elapsed (No in S41 → Yes in S43), the server machine 11 acquires information on the operation status from the copying machines 3E to 3H ( S44). That is, the communication control unit 11d controls the communication unit 11b so as to transmit a request to transmit information about the operation status to the copying machines 3E to 3H. As described in steps S <b> 31 and S <b> 32 of FIG. 8, the copiers 3 </ b> E to 3 </ b> H that have received this request transmit information about the operation status of the own machine to the server machine 11.

  When receiving the transmission of information, the totaling unit 11c totals these pieces of information (S45). It should be noted that the configuration setting of which element the copying unit 11c and the communication control unit 11d attach importance to in the operation status of the copying machine is appropriately set in the same manner as the configuration setting in the selection of the copying machine in the copying machines 3A to 3D described above. It can be changed. In other words, the server machine 11 receives an instruction from the user as to which element of the operation status of the copying machine should be emphasized through a receiving unit (not shown) or the copying machines 3E to 3H, and based on the received content. The operating status can be collected and aggregated.

  The aggregation results obtained in this way are stored in the storage device 11a (S46). As described in [II-4] above, the result of the totalization is used for selecting a copying machine in the copying machines 3E to 3H.

  As described above, the communication systems according to the first and second embodiments can present to each user a copy machine having a low waiting time for a plurality of copy machines. Therefore, the user can easily recognize which copying machine has the shortest waiting time by approaching the closest copying machine and checking the display, which is very convenient.

  Note that techniques obtained by combining the matters described in the respective columns of different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Techniques obtained by appropriately combining conventionally known techniques with these techniques are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  The present invention is preferably used in an environment where two or more image forming apparatuses such as a copy print shop or an office copy room are connected via a network.

1 is a block diagram showing a communication system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of the copying machines 3A to 3D. 6 is a flowchart showing a copying machine selection operation in the copying machines 3A to 3D. The drawing which shows an example of the order table based on the temperature of a fixing | fixed part. 5 is a flowchart showing own device information collecting operation in the copying machines 3A to 3D. The block diagram which shows the communication system 101 concerning the other embodiment of this invention. 6 is a flowchart showing a copying machine selection operation in copying machines 3E to 3F. 10 is a flowchart of the own machine information collection operation in the copying machines 3E to 3F. 5 is a flowchart showing an information collecting operation in the server machine 11.

Explanation of symbols

100, 101 Communication system 10 HUB
2 Straight cable 3A-3H Copying machine (image forming device)
Reference Signs List 31 Printing Unit 32 Communication Unit 33 Human Sensor 34 Input Accepting Unit 35 Display Unit 36 Power Supply Unit 37 Memory 37a Operation Status Storage Area 38 Control Device 38a Communication Control Unit 38b Copying Machine Selection Unit 38c Display Control Unit 38d Self-machine Operation Status Acquisition 38e Power supply controller 4 External power supply

Claims (12)

A printing section for printing an image on a medium;
A communication unit capable of acquiring information about the operation status of the other image forming apparatus by communicating with at least the other image forming apparatus;
A display unit for presenting an image to the user;
A human detection unit that detects the presence of the user;
The own machine operation status acquisition unit that acquires information about the operation status of the own machine,
When the person detecting unit detects the presence of the user, the user is the earliest among the own apparatus and the other image forming apparatuses from the information about the operation state of the own apparatus and the information about the operation state of the other image forming apparatus. A selection unit for selecting an image forming apparatus capable of providing printed matter;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a display control unit that displays a selection result of the selection unit on the display unit.   A communication control unit configured to control the communication unit so as to collect information about an operation state of the other image forming apparatus from another image forming apparatus when the person detecting unit detects the presence of the user; The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit further transmits information acquired by the operation status acquisition unit of the own apparatus to another image forming apparatus.   If the person detection unit does not detect the presence of a user for a certain period of time, a sleep mode that reduces the power consumption of the own device is executed. If the person detection unit detects the presence of a user, the sleep mode is resumed. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a power supply control unit. An image forming apparatus capable of communicating with two or more image forming apparatuses and capable of communicating with a server having information on an operation status of the image forming apparatus.
A printing section for printing an image on a medium;
By communicating with the server, a communication unit that can acquire information about the operation status of the image forming apparatus and the other apparatus that communicates with the server and the server;
A display unit for presenting an image to the user;
A human detection unit that detects the presence of the user;
When the human detection unit detects the presence of the user, the image that can provide the user with the printed matter the earliest among the image forming apparatuses that can communicate with the server from the information about the operation status of the own apparatus and other image forming apparatuses. A selection unit for selecting a forming device;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a display control unit that displays a selection result of the selection unit on the display unit.   6. The communication control unit according to claim 5, further comprising a communication control unit configured to control the communication unit so as to obtain information about an operation status of the other image forming apparatus from the server when the human detection unit detects the presence of a user. The image forming apparatus described. It further includes an own machine operation status acquisition unit that acquires information about the operation status of the own machine,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the communication unit is configured to transmit the information acquired by the own apparatus operation status acquisition unit to the server.   If the human detection unit does not detect the presence of the user for a certain period of time, the sleep mode is executed to reduce the power consumption in the device. If the human detection unit detects the presence of the user, the sleep mode returns from the sleep mode. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a power supply control unit configured as described above. A communication system comprising two or more image forming apparatuses capable of communicating with each other,
The image forming apparatus includes:
A printing section for printing an image on a medium;
A communication unit capable of acquiring information about the operation status of the other image forming apparatus by communicating with at least the other image forming apparatus;
A display unit for presenting an image to the user;
A human detection unit that detects the presence of the user;
The own machine operation status acquisition unit that acquires information about the operation status of the own machine,
When the person detecting unit detects the presence of the user, the user is the earliest among the own apparatus and the other image forming apparatuses from the information about the operation state of the own apparatus and the information about the operation state of the other image forming apparatus. A selection unit for selecting an image forming apparatus capable of providing printed matter;
A display control unit that displays a selection result of the selection unit on the display unit. Other image forming apparatuses transmit information about the operation status of their own devices to the image forming apparatus that has detected the presence of the user by the human detection unit, via the communication unit,
The image forming apparatus that has detected the presence of the user by the person detecting unit selects the image forming apparatus that can provide the printed matter to the user earliest in the communication system by the selecting unit, and the display control unit selects the selecting unit. The communication system according to claim 9, wherein the selection result is displayed on the display unit. A communication system comprising two or more image forming apparatuses and a server capable of communicating with the image forming apparatus,
The server collects information about the operating status of the image forming apparatus in the communication system.
The image forming apparatus includes:
A printing section for printing an image on a medium;
A communication unit capable of acquiring the information about the operation status of the image forming apparatus in the communication system by communicating with the server;
A display unit for presenting an image to the user;
A human detection unit that detects the presence of the user;
When the human detection unit detects the presence of a user, the print information is provided to the user first among the image forming devices in the communication system based on the information acquired by the communication unit for the image forming device in the communication system. A selection unit for selecting a possible image forming apparatus;
A display control unit that displays a selection result of the selection unit on the display unit. The server is configured to request the image forming apparatuses in the communication system to transmit information about the operation status of each image forming apparatus.
Each image forming apparatus further includes an own machine operation status acquisition unit that acquires information about the operation status of the own machine,
The communication system according to claim 11, wherein the communication unit is configured to transmit information acquired by the own operation status acquisition unit to the server in response to the request from the server.

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